Follow-Up
Basics B105 lists this as an enhancement (a penetration modifier) for attacks. *B378 "The damage of an attack modified with Follow-Up (p. 105) is never halved, either – although its “carrier” attack is subject to 1/2D effects as usual." It requires designating a carrier. Two carriers are given: *body weaponry **Claws **Teeth *Innate Attack It later mentions that if used on a "passive carrier attack" like Spines that Follow-Up is instead a limitation. Taboo modifiers "Note that the Follow-Up attack itself cannot take any of these modifiers. Only its carrier attack may have them." is mentioned after the following list: #Always On #Aura #Cone #Drifting #Emanation #Emergencies Only #Extra Recoil #Guided #Homing #Increased Range #Jet #Limited Use #Malediction #Melee Attack #Preparation Required #Rapid Fire #Reduced Range #Takes Extra Time #Takes Recharge #Unconscious Only #Uncontrollable #Unreliable The sum of any of these on the carrier instead defines the value of Follow-Up. It is unknown if there are any examples of abilities which combine Follow-Up with one of these taboo modifiers. If so it should be listed below and explained. Similar modifiers to the above list which are not mentioned: #Usually On (similar to Always On) #Persistent (prerequisites for Drifting) #Area Effect (prerequisite for Emanation) #Cannot Parry (perhaps part of Melee Attack, like ST-Based) #Weaponized (add-on to Malediction from later book) #Very Rapid Fire (variation of Rapid Fire from later book) #Costs Fatigue (like Takes Recharge, this limits usage!) #Reliable (not really the opposite of Unreliable, as the opposite of this is actually Hard to Use) #Fickle (later book, similar to Unreliable #Extended Duration and Reduced Duration (like Persistent this isn't mentioned, but this would be really important regarding Aura or Drifting! Campaigns B 381 elaborates FAQ URPS FAQ 3.4.5.10. Follow-up ignores DR if the carrier penetrates it. Is it automatically stopped if the carrier fails to penetrate? No! Example: If a grenade hits you for 1d crushing in the head (with skull DR 2 stopping it completely on a roll of 1), it still explodes for 3d cr ex. Now, poisons are another matter: Toxic and Fatigue attacks on realistic weapons frequently have Blood Agent. In this case, the follow-up will indeed be stopped if the carrier fails to penetrate. However, there is no discount (limitation value) on the follow-up attack for this, as a strong carrier negates the limitation, and basing limitation value on carrier damage is too un-generic. Powers P102 mentions "Follow-Up is only valid on attacks that can’t normally ignore DR" and prohibits using it with Leech, suggesting Blood Agent instead. P144 gives examples of "Followup: Teeth/Striker" indicating that Strikers can be carrier attacks too. Supers GURPS Supers 39 has a complete list of body weaponry: "Claws, Spines, Striker, or Teeth" Horror GURPS Horror 154 mentions: :Vampiric Bite (14): 1d+1 cutting + follow-up 2 HP/second blood drain. Requires a normal grapple first. Fantasy GURPS Fantasy *pg 205: Innate Attack: Dismemberment (Cutting; Follow-Up, Delivered by Grappling an Extremity, +0%; Immediate Crippling, +10%; All or Nothing, -10%); *pg 212: any damage gets through, the striges remain attached and drink the victim’s blood; treat this as a Follow-Up attack that causes toxic damage. Quotes Kromm per Stephane Theriault in 2005 http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=3668 :Area Effect isn't supposed to carry Follow-Up attacks. If you prefer to allow it, then you *should* add the costs of these things to Follow-Up. :(And note that you can have Drifting w/o Area Effect if you take Delay, but you can never have Mobile w/o Area Effect, which is why Drifting is on the short list while Mobile is not.) *PK elaborated :: I'm surprised that Sean and David just assumed that Area Effect attacks shouldn't include follow-up. I mean, since Side Effects isn't allowed on any attack with Penetration Modifiers, the only way to do a cinematic "ion cloud" (i.e., a cloud of electrically charged particles, delivering enough amperage to damage and stun you but stopped by any cloth, armor, or other nonconducting matter) is: :::Burning Attack (Area Effect; Contact Agent) ::::plus :::Affliction (Followup: Burning Attack) ::This sounds like errata to me, not just a clarification. PK in 2006 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=175634&postcount=9 What you're "paying for" with Follow-Up is the fact that if your initial attack penetrates DR, your Follow-Up attack ignores DR completely. That's normally a +300% enhancement, so getting it for +50% with the drawback that it only does so "if any melee attack you ever make penetrates armor" seems like a fair price to me. sir pudding in 2007 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=356035&postcount=27 :. If the follow-up attack does fatigue or toxic damage, it won't do anything to armor, as it only affects living organisms. A fatigue or toxic attack with follow-up is automatically a blood or contact agent (see Delivery, p. B437), but it receives no cost break because it has a means to bypass DR -- the lack of which is what makes Blood Agent and Contact Agent limitations. If the follow-up does any other damage type, though, it affects unliving things and might be capable of penetrating armor on its own. See also Follow-Up Damage, p. B381. :put Follow-Up on a burning or corrosion attack. Unlike fatigue and toxic attacks, these things can pierce armor and might very well injure even without the "armor divisor infinity" of a carrier attack that puts a hole in armor. Blood Agent breakdown http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=23986&page=2 see also *Follow-Up, Universal *Side Effect Category:Enhancements Category:Limitations